Although leukemia and lymphoma account for a moderate share of all cancers, hemato-oncology has consistently pioneered oncology research, from fundamental discoveries in cancer biology to treatment innovations that have transformed care for many other tumor types.

The dawn of cancer chemotherapy began in the 1940s, with the introduction of nitrogen mustards and folic acid antagonists for treating lymphoma and leukemia, respectively. Only a few years later, in 1956, the first successful bone marrow transplant in a leukemia patient marked the inception of cell-based cancer therapy, a breakthrough that remains a cornerstone in hematologic oncology to this day. Over the following decades, advances in molecular biology led to targeted therapies, the first of which was imatinib, a small molecule designed to inhibit the BCR-ABL fusion protein in Philadelphia chromosome-positive leukemias. Approved in 2001, it set a new standard for kinase inhibitors across oncology. More recently, the approval of the first CAR T-cell therapies for B-cell malignancies has once again revolutionized the field.

The ACHILLES MSCA Doctoral Network was conceived in light of this history, with the aim of preparing a new generation of researchers who will keep advancing precision medicine and innovative treatment strategies to improve outcomes for patients with leukemia and lymphoma. Yet the problems we face are too complex for biology alone. For this reason, the ACHILLES consortium brings together a multidisciplinary team of cell and molecular biologists, biochemists, biotechnologists, and bioinformaticians, along with medicinal chemists, mathematicians, biochemical engineers, and physician-scientists. Working side by side, we will train 16 Doctoral Candidates across 12 European countries in blood cancer research.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THIS SYMPOSIUM?

The ACHILLES MSCA Doctoral Network Opening Symposium is the first in-person meeting of the consortium. We have envisioned it as a training activity for our doctoral candidates and for anyone taking their first steps as a researcher in hemato-oncology.

• Is this a scientific symposium? It surely is.

• Is it a conventional one? Not at all.

Apart from the Keynote Lecture by Professor Freddy Radtke, who will present his latest research on leukemia therapeutics, the symposium is educational at its core. ACHILLES supervisors and the outstanding members of the ACHILLES Scientific Advisory Board will introduce the fundamentals of different blood cancers, review the latest advanced therapies, discuss their promise and their challenges, and show how areas beyond biology can help us progress further and faster. By the end, you will have a solid foundation in the state of the art of the research field you are just entering.

• Are you a PhD student working on a blood malignancy? This is your place.

• Are you a postdoc moving into hemato-oncology from a different background? Please join us.

Everyone is welcome. Just keep in mind that you will not hear the usual talks presenting new results. Instead, we will focus on what early-career researchers need most: a clear understanding of the basics of the field to build on.

IJC Auditorium + Online
Inscripción